EXTRAORDINARY RENDITION

> Mohamed et al. v. Jeppesen Dataplan, Inc. > El-Masri v. Tenet

Watch the video about the lawsuit against Jeppesen on YouTube >>

NEWS > ACLU Asks Federal Court To Restore Torture Flight Lawsuit Against Boeing Subsidiary (9/25/2008) > ACLU Asks Federal Court To Reinstate Extraordinary Rendition Lawsuit Against Boeing Subsidiary (6/30/2008) > ACLU Lauds Introduction of House State Secrets Bill (3/13/2008) > Court Decision Denies Extraordinary Rendition Victims Their Day In Court (2/14/2008) > State Secrets Privilege Dangerously Overbroad (2/13/2008) > ACLU In Court Today In Lawsuit Against Boeing Subsidiary That Aided CIA "Torture Flights" (2/05/2008) > House Hearing a Step Towards Progress on State Secrets Privilege (1/29/2008) FEATURES > VIDEO: El-Masri v. Tenet (11/28/2006) > AUDIO: Ghost Plane Author Steven Grey > Extraordinary Rendition: Learn More About CIA Kidnapping > Challenging Government Torture and Abuse LEGAL DOCUMENTS Mohamed et al. v. Jeppesen Dataplan     > Reply Brief of Plaintiffs-Appellants (9/25/2008)     > Notice of Appeal (3/14/2008)     > Memo of Plaintiffs in Opposition to Government's Motion to Dismiss (12/14/2007)     > Declaration of Sean Belcher (10/15/2007)     > First Amended Complaint     > Complaint El-Masri v. Tenet     > Document Resources

NEW YORK – Claiming “state secrets” are at stake, the U.S. government today requested the dismissal of a federal lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union against Boeing Company subsidiary Jeppesen Dataplan, Inc. for its participation in the CIA’s unlawful “extraordinary rendition” program.

The ACLU filed the lawsuit on behalf of five rendition victims who were kidnapped by the CIA and secretly transferred to U.S.-run secret overseas prisons or to the custody of foreign intelligence agencies where they were subjected to torture and other forms of cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment. In the lawsuit, the ACLU charges that Jeppesen knowingly provided direct logistical support for the flights that the CIA used for the clandestine rendition flights.

The following can be attributed to Steven Watt, staff attorney with the ACLU’s Human Rights Program and an attorney on the case:

“The whole world knows about the U.S. ‘extraordinary rendition’ program and the government’s invocation of ‘state secrets’ in this case is just another cynical attempt by the administration to cover up an illegal and immoral program.

“Historically, the ‘state secrets’ defense has been used to exclude discrete information in cases that may contain sensitive national security content. However, with increasingly regularity, the current administration has invoked the defense as a means of dismissing entire cases seeking accountability for illegal practices and policies it has implemented in the name of national security.

“Five men have been brutally abused under the ‘extraordinary rendition’ program with the help of a U.S. corporation. These victims deserve their day in court. And Jeppesen must be held accountable for the instrumental role the company played in their suffering.”

More information on the ACLU’s lawsuit against Jeppesen as well as its other work in the fight against rendition can be found online at:
www.aclu.org/rendition.